William Deegan spent five weeks in custody in the communal wing of a prison in Hungary before his extradition this week, reports Joe Humphreys.
Mr Bill Deegan's appearance in a Wexford court yesterday came more than two years after a warrant was first issued for his arrest.
The 61-year-old father of five had been working until recently as director of Pannonia Golf and Country Club near Budapest. He had previously worked as a golf teacher in Germany, to which he travelled 14 months after he was last interviewed by gardaí investigating alleged embezzlement in the south-east.
The court heard that Mr Deegan spent five weeks in custody in Hungary before his extradition this week. His solicitor, Mr Simon Kennedy, pointed out that the former insurance broker had been forced to reside in a communal prison wing.
Mr Deegan told the court that when the Hungarian police first came to him with the extradition warrant, he asked to be allowed to fly back to Ireland that night so that he could answer the charges "straight away".
However, they took him to a police station and then to another, where he was kept for three days before further incarceration.
Mr Deegan stressed that he had not used an alibi, or changed his name, while living abroad. He said he was well known to the Irish community in Hungary and was even invited to Christmas dinner last year by the Irish Ambassador in Budapest.
He noted that last summer he also invited a group of sports journalists to Hungary as part of a local tourism initiative and they came to Pannonia, a major championship course where he held "quite a prominent position".
An article on the visit appeared in The Irish Times last June, naming him as the course's head professional. Mr Deegan said he framed the full-page article and placed it on a wall of his office.
Mr Kennedy pointed out that Mr Deegan had also spoken to gardaí in Wexford over the past year. But Sgt Bart Slattery, leading the investigation, said he was not aware of this.
Mr Deegan, who last visited the Republic in 2000, said he believed the investigation into his affairs had been completed by the time he left the Republic on June 11th, 1996. He had been on social welfare for some previously, and gardaí would have known where to contact him.
He added that he was unaware of a High Court order, demanding disclosure of bank account details. Nor, he said, was he aware of an arrest warrant which - according to Sgt Slattery - was requested by gardaí in 1999 and issued two years later.
Mr Deegan further claimed he notified the German authorities of his change of address after he started work in Hungary on March 17th, 1999. However, the DPP said it disputed this.
Mr Deegan lived in rented accommodation in Budapest, which he said was "now gone". He had no property in Hungary, nor did he have ties with any other country.
Separated from his wife, and now unemployed, he said he would live with one of his children while on bail. One of his sons, described in court as "a person of substance", has agreed to provide an independent surety.